Bernie Watch Out

The Republican Party is currently in a full blown melt down phase. Their traditional platform planks, which are designed to appeal to a dog’s breakfast of varied so called conservative values, have been cut to the root by Donald Trumps far more bread and butter oriented campaign. What is the Party to do?

Traditional GOP leaders are lining up, some holding their noses and backing Trump, while others are ready to deny Trump the nomination if they can. This a prescription for a poor showing in November. So are Democrats smiling?

Hillary Clinton’s team is probably high five-ing and back slapping in private but have been disciplined enough in public to hide their delight in the prospects of facing Donald Trump in the general election. This is a very wise position since the Donald’s so unorthodox tactics might introduce some unsavory claims over the Clintons which some voters may believe and increase Hillary’s negatives even more. Better to take Trump seriously and plan for an effective campaign, than to appear celebrating too soon.

But Trump is not Hillary’s only worry. Bernie Sanders is still in the fray. While pundits predict Bernie cannot win the nomination, he has piled up a lot of primary votes and wants the right to insert his favorite planks into the Democrat platform. Bernie said yesterday that if he is denied enough seats on Democrat Convention committees, he will force floor fights on all sorts of issues and get his favorite planks on the official Democrat Platform. Hmmm.

Bernie’s favorites involve income inequality, breaking up large banks, and getting big money out of politics. Its hard to see Hillary wanting to increase or even ignore income inequality, so this one should not be a problem. But breaking up big banks and getting big money out of politics are something different.

Breaking up big banks (or reinstitution the Glass-Stiegel Act) seems a wise move giving the near catastrophic results seen in 2008 when “too big to fail” institutions got drunk on sophisticated and incomprehensible financial instruments. Banks, Investment Houses, and Insurance Companies all played with depositors money and made some risky bets.

Government bailouts became necessary because it was unclear whether letting some fail would not lead to a domino effect and all the others might come tumbling down. The infamous $85 billion AIG (insurance company) bailout was in fact a bailout of investment houses like Goldman Sachs who held insurance written by AIG. If AIG failed, Goldman would have been seriously wounded too.

So why not move on this apparent “no-brainer”? World finance is very complicated and tying specific reforms to campaign promises is ready made for becoming “just another promise not fulfilled).

“Getting big money out of politics” is worthwhile, especially when the views “big money” express are not yours. But making all political contributions public at the same time as the donation is made may be more powerful. Public disclosures means a direct line to the actual donor, not the bundler or bundlers in the process leading to the donation.

Also, ending the current Congressional practice of appointing sub-committee status to the Congress member who raises designated amounts could be even more powerful. What ever rules or reforms that might be adopted must, however, be enforced across all parties or they will produce unintended consequences.

Full, timely transparency is more achievable than signaling certain donors and their money are unacceptable. There is always risk eliminating certain donors could hurt one party more than the other. A well intended democratic reform could become simply a partisan tactic.

There is no question that Bernie Sanders’ demands are popular with his followers. Sanders’ supporters should take a breath and think about who the real opposition is. If achieving a Democrat platform which divides the party or makes campaign hay for the Republicans, what would be the purpose?

Sanders has fought an amazing battle. He has eloquently put forward compelling arguments but he must recognize that the gulf between him and Hillary is a puddle compare to that between him and Donald Trump or the ocean separating him and Republican orthodoxy.